LEOMINSTER -- Given the ages of the players on the field, Saturday's contest between North Leominster and Narragansett was something truly remarkable.

Both teams' hurlers were lights out, as the sides battled to a scoreless tie through the first six innings of play. In the seventh, one gutsy call paid off, as North Leominster walked off with a thrilling 1-0 victory in the 7- and 8-year-old Leominster Invitational Tournament championship game.

North Leominster finishes the tournament with a 9-1 record, with its only loss coming at the hands of Narragansett during the regular season. Narragansett ends the summer disappointed, but without any regrets, finishing with an impressive 7-3 record.

"The pitching was outstanding, and both teams pitched incredibly," North Leominster manager Chad Garner said. "You can never predict 0-0 going into the seventh, but it was just an unbelievable baseball game. And when you put it into perspective, these are just 7- and 8-year-old kids making clutch plays, battling adversity and just dealing with the nerves. I'm proud of both teams because that was one heck of a championship game."

North Leominster came to the plate needing one run to end the game, for the second time in the contest. No. 3 hitter Sawyer Corbin led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield hit. That marked the end of the day for Narragansett reliever Chase Burdett.

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Burdett had pitched three nearly perfect innings, allowing just two baserunners and never facing more than four batters in one inning. He gave up two walks and recorded six strikeouts.

Next up for North Leominster was power hitter Ben Simons, who drilled a shot to the deep infield. The Narragansett shortstop tried to go to second for the force out, but was not in time, leaving two runners on with nobody out.

Patrick Gallagher would then dig in during a crucial moment for Leominster, as he hit a shallow pop that rolled toward the first baseman. As the first baseman recorded the first out of inning, North Leominster's third-base coach, Garner, gave the green light for Corbin to round third.

The speedy Corbin sprinted home and slid in just before an accurate throw from first came to the catcher, as North Leominster stormed the field in a thrilling walk-off victory.

"(Corbin) is probably our fastest player, and I was definitely going to take the chance there," Garner said. "When I saw the first baseman tag the bag, but his back was turned, I took the chance and sent our fastest kid. It was going to take a great play to get him out, and you have to take that chance, or we could still be playing right now."

The most difficult outing for North Leominster pitching was for starter Alex Coco, who allowed two baserunners in each of the first two innings. Just like the rest of his pitching cohorts, however, Coco found a way to raise his game when he needed to.

With two outs in the second, Coco issued a walk and hit a batter to put a pair of runners on. He regained his composure, though, fanning the next batter swinging to get out of the jam.

North Leominster meanwhile wasn't having much luck at the plate, either, only getting two hits through the first six innings. The early going had opportunities for North Leominster, as well, as in two of the first three innings, the team had two runners on, including runners on the corners in the first.

But just like his Leominster counterparts, Narragansett starter Max Kauffman got out of every jam, maintaining the scoreless tie.

If possible, the pitching only got better as the game went on. North Leominster reliever Simons had 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and sixth. Thanks to a nice throw by catcher Mark Garner that caught a runner stealing, Simons would only face three batters in the fifth, as well.

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